Conservatives Push Back on Trump’s Voucher Scheme

The Big, Terrible Bill included lots not to like, including the creation of a federal school voucher program.

While conservatives tend to be proponents of state-level voucher schemes, some are raising concerns over the Trump scheme:

Though attractive on the surface, this generous credit effectively removes the burden of K-12 funding from the state and transfers it to private SGOs. This undermines states like North Carolina, who did the difficult work of reforming their education funding model to ensure dollars follow the student.

As we saw in the last administration, given enough leverage, the federal government will always try to turn funding into a cudgel to promote its social policy goals.

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Arizona Bankrolls Extreme Education Agenda

Trump Scheme Puts Key School Programs At Risk

An Extreme Agenda

Donald Trump and his buddies at the Heritage Foundation are seeking to remake American public education in the image of Christian Nationalism.

The Trump administration has launched a partisan “patriotic” education coalition that includes US ED and more than 40 partner groups, all of which are closely aligned with the president’s MAGA movement — including Prager U, the Heritage Foundation, Moms for Liberty, Turning Point USA, America First Legal, Hillsdale College, ALEC, the Goldwater Institute, and more — to create civics programming for public schools across the nation. Many of these organizations are involved in efforts to stop teaching civil rights material, oust school board members who believe in teaching social justice, ban books, and whitewash history lessons. In the US ED press release, Turning Point USA claimed to be “more resolved than ever to advance God-centered, virtuous education for students… 

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Even Conservatives Don’t Like Federal School Vouchers

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Unfrozen

No thanks to Gov. Bill Lee

While Gov. Bill Lee was content to let Tennessee schools lose out on $118 million in federal funding, leaders in other states – including Kentucky’s Gov. Andy Beshear – took on the Trump Administration and secured release of billions in education dollars.

The Washington Post reports:

The Trump administration plans to release more than $5 billion in funding to public schools that it has withheld for nearly a month, a senior administration official said Friday, ending weeks of anxiety and uncertainty for school leaders who had said the freeze jeopardized programs and staffing for the upcoming academic year.

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Indiana’s Private School Coupon Plan

Big, Beautiful Bill Includes Big, Ugly Vouchers

Frozen Funds Matter

School districts across Tennessee are suffering from Donald Trump’s freezing of key education funding.

In total, more than $6 billion in federal funding has been frozen, including $118 million designated for Tennessee public schools.

While leaders in some states are suing the Administration for release of the funds, Gov. Lee is not – and if the funds are not ultimately released, it could mean lost jobs and less programs for Tennessee kids most in need.

NewsChannel9 in Chattanooga reports on the impact in that region:

A spokesperson for Hamilton County Schools says they are at risk of losing $4.1 million that funds “several targeted services such as academic intervention (tutoring), teacher professional learning, and support for English learners.”

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Bill Lee Bucks Sun Bucks

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